Ensemble '84 - Pits, People and Players

The heritage, resilience, and future of Horden.

Ensemble '84 presents a re-staging of their original production, Pits, People and Players, created in 2025 in celebration of Horden’s 125th Anniversary.

Developed and performed in Horden, the heart of the community becomes the stage for a piece that dives deep into the story of Horden itself — a village forged in coal, carved by industry, and transformed by change.

With its all County-Durham cast embedded in much of the research, this new, devised show is rooted in the lived experience of local people and crafted from a tapestry of testimony, memory, and imagination. It explores Horden’s rise as a pillar of the UK’s industrial might – with Horden Colliery setting a European record for coal mining in 1930 – and the painful unravelling that followed the pit closures in 1987, a seismic loss that has reshaped both place and people.

But this isn’t just a story of decline. With care and candour, the production looks ahead to a future marked by shifting demographics, new challenges, and a fierce desire for renewal. It asks vital questions about identity, belonging, and the meaning of community in a changing world.

Poetic, political, and deeply human, this show is a tribute to the power of place, the endurance of stories, and the necessity of hope – blending theatre, storytelling, and music.

www.ensemble84.com